1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to processing of printer products, and more particularly to a device for positioning the printed products along a conveying path.
2. Description of the Related Art
European Patent Application A-1 563 968, owned by the assignee of the present application, discloses a conventional apparatus used for the trimming and processing printed products. In this apparatus, the printed products are transferred via a conveying device to a conveying rotor, which then supplies the printed products to a trimming device. The device for positioning the printed products, which is incorporated into a rotary trimmer and is herein referred to as a positioning device, has a fixed curved element placed at the bottom of the pockets into which the printed products are inserted. During the transfer, the printed products are deposited on the driven belt of the positioning device. The belt is fitted over several sequentially arranged rollers and forms a curved guide element for positioning the printed products so that they can be gripped by respectively one clamp while in a predetermined position. In order to adapt the guide element to the various formats of the printed product, the sequentially arranged rollers along the curved section can be pivoted manually at the front end of the positioning device, relative to the conveying direction of the printed products, around an axis that extends parallel to the axis of rotation for the conveying rotor.
European Patent Document EP-A-0 753 386 discloses another apparatus for trimming printed products, which also includes a conveying rotor with pockets. In order to position the printed products for the frontal trimming, the pockets containing the respectively deposited printed products must be installed to extend radially, which is a comparatively expensive operation.
What is needed is an apparatus for trimming printed products that allows the position of the printed products to be adjusted for frontal trimming, without a need to rearrange the position of the pockets.